~ POINT KAIZEN ~

Point Kaizen is the act of performing a Kaizen Blitz on a single workcell or workstation or machine.

Point Kaizen as the Primary Objective
Re-organizing a workcell can improve the efficiency of the workcell.  U-shaped flow, shadow boards, kanban cards, flow racks, 2-bin parts storage, are all LEAN tools. The re-organized workcell is now an island of efficiency within an ocean of waste. There will be no measureable financial improvement.

Point Kaizen as a Tool during Lean Transformation
In a systemic Lean Transformation project, a Future State Value Stream Map (FS VSM) is the guide to the Kaizen Burst mini-projects. Each improvement project has a specific purpose, including: reduce cycle time, reduce change-over time, improve throughput, reduce Non-Value Added time (NVA), etc. All Point Kaizen projects on the FS VSAM must be executed before change-over to the new control system. A "bottom-line" result is only realized when the transformation is systemic, meaning that the entire operation is optimized for flow and efficiency. In the transformation, Point Kaizen is simply a tool, a method for executing a Kaizen-Burst mini-project at a specific point in the process.